Show Notes
During the Great Depression in the US, facing mass job losses and abject poverty, thousands of coal miners in Pennsylvania took direct action and began digging their own mines on company property. We tell their story in this two-part podcast. Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory With Mitch Troutman, author of the excellent book, The Bootleg Coal Rebellion: The Pennsylvania Miners Who Seized an Industry, 1925–1942, we learn how these workers and their families fought against company guards, police, coal bosses and the legal system, formed a union, and organised an entire industry – not for profit, but for meeting human needs. We also hear from the miners themselves, in audio recorded by Michael Kozura, and shared with Mitch by Michael’s widow. Part 2 covers attempts to repress the movement, the development of bootleg mining as a major industry, the involvement of women and children in the movement, and miners’ collaboration with truck drivers.
More information The Bootleg Coal Rebellion: The Pennsylvania Miners Who Seized an Industry, 1925–1942 – Mitch Troutman – get hold of Mitch’s book here in our online store, with global shipping. Full information, show notes and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e95-96-bootleg-miners/ Acknowledgements Thanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman, Fernando López Ojeda, Jeremy Cusimano and Nick Williams. Produced and edited by Tyler Hill Episode graphic: Bootleg miners. Courtesy Jack Delano/Library of Congress Our theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.
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New Fireside Chat available exclusively for our Patreon supporters about the true history of the weekend, struggles over time off from work, and what is missing from mainstream accounts. Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory Listen to the full episode here on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/workingclasshistory/posts/e126-fireside-we-169049458 While mainstream narratives credit antisemitic capitalist, Henry Ford, with the creation of the modern two-day weekend, the reality is that it was something which millions of workers around the world organised and fought for. Time, like wage labour, and many other facets of modern life, seems like a natural phenomenon. But the way we experience time has been shaped almost entirely by human societies. From ancient Mesopotamia, and major world religions including Judaism, Christianity and Islam, we trace the history weekend to mediaeval Europe, Iran, China, revolutionary France up to the present day in the US, UK and elsewhere. From drunkards in Austria, to oil workers in Azerbaijan, anarchists in Chicago, and women in Detroit, in this episode we look at the people who, together, created the weekend. The majority of workers in the West today don’t realise that the modern two-day weekend that most of us enjoy only really became widespread in the last 80 years. And while today we take it for granted, employers and governments everywhere are making moves to erode it. At the same time, as automation continues, and large language models promise ever-higher productivity, a new generation of workers is calling for its extension – to a three-day weekend without loss in pay. Who will ultimately prevail, depends on us. E125: Fireside Chat – How We Won the Weekend – Available exclusively for our supporters on Patreon Full episode webpage: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e126-the-radical-history-of-the-weekend/ WCH commemorative merch about the weekend: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/weekend Acknowledgements Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands. Edited by Jesse French Our theme tune is Montaigne’s version of the classic labour movement anthem, ‘Bread and Roses’, performed by Montaigne and Nick Harriott, and mixed by Wave Racer. Download the song here, with all proceeds going to Medical Aid for Palestinians. More from Montaigne: website, Instagram, YouTube.
As part of our work to mark the centenary of the UK's 1926 general strike, we sat down with with Charles Ferrall and Dougal McNeill, authors of the excellent Writing the 1926 General Strike: Literature, Culture, Politics to talk about some of the literature texts produced in response to the strike, both from established authors and emerging working-class writers.
Free preview extract ofIn various countries around the world, as movements against exploitation and inequality exploded, protesters found some unlikely allies – street dogs. In these episodes, we look at movements and riot dogs in two countries: Chile and Greece, and Negro Matapacos and Loukanikos, respectively. Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes without ads, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Supporters also get access to two exclusive podcast series: Fireside Chats and Radical Reads. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory In this bonus episode, we look at a street dog named Loukanikos, and protests against police violence in 2009, and against austerity in 2011. Listen to the whole thing exclusively by joining us on Patreon. More info Check out the Riot dog merch in our online shop. Check out sources, more information, and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e125-riot-dogs/ Acknowledgements Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands. Episode graphic: Loukanikos poster, designed for WCH by Jeff Mooridian Jr Our theme tune is Loukanikos, by Ricardo Araya, as The Sunfall. Get it here on Bandcamp. Written by Audrey Kemp and Tyler Hill. Produced by Tyler Hill.
In various countries around the world, as movements against exploitation and inequality exploded, protesters found some unlikely allies – street dogs. In these episodes, we look at movements and riot dogs in two countries: Chile and Greece, and Negro Matapacos and Loukanikos, respectively.Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes without ads, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Supporters also get access to two exclusive podcast series: Fireside Chats and Radical Reads. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory You can listen to our podcast on the links below, or on any major podcast app. Links to a few below.Episodes E125: Chile – In this episode, we head to Chile, where a central figure of the 2019 uprising against the country’s dictatorship-era legacy, was a street dog called Negro Matapacos. Available without ads on Patreon. E125.1: Greece – In this bonus episode, we look at a street dog named Loukanikos, and protests against police violence in 2009, and against austerity in 2011. Available exclusively for our supporters on Patreon. More info Check out the Riot dog merch in our online shop. Check out sources, more information, and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e125-riot-dogs/ Acknowledgements Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands. Episode graphic: Negro Matapacos mural, courtesy Sfs90/Wikimedia Commons Our theme tune is Loukanikos, by Ricardo Araya, as The Sunfall. Get it here on Bandcamp. Written by Audrey Kemp and Tyler Hill. Produced by Tyler Hill.
Fireside Chat podcast available exclusively for our Patreon supporters we invited back Tomas Rothaus (from our Argentina 2001 episodes) to discuss football, politics, and the chaotic mess of the World Cup in Donald Trump's USA.